1966 BSCC Season
The 1966 BRSCC British Saloon Car Championship was the ninth edition of the British Saloon Car Championship. 1966 saw John Fitzpatrick take his first driver's championship, while Team Lotus took the honours in the Lombank Entrant's Trophy.http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1966%20BSCC%20Class.html Regulations 1966 saw the BSCC adopt a new set of regulations, known as FIA Group 5 regs.http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1966%20BSCC.html Under the new regulations, cars could be modified more than before, although the body shape had to remain true to the road car it represented. Classes The class structure remained the same as it had done the year before, with four classes (A-D) allowing a range of cars of various engine capacities to enter. Points As with 1965, the 1966 season saw points awarded from first to fourth in each class, with an additional point for the driver who set the fastest lap. Round by Round This section is for a round by round report for each race of the season. First Round: Archie Scott-Brown Memorial Trophy (Snetterton) Gathering in support of the Archie Scott-Brown Memorial Trophy race for Formula Two cars in 1966, the BSCC raced for the first time that year at Snetterton, with Jim Clark putting the skills that had taken him to two World Championships and a BSCC title to good use, taking pole.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1966%20Snetterton%20BSCC.html It would be Jack Brabham, however, using a powerful Ford Mustang that took the honours that day, having jumped Clark at the start. Clark went on to take third in his Team Lotus machine, having been overtaken by Brian Muir (in his Ford Galaxie) and Mike Salmon (driving a Cobra Mustang that year), before the latter suffered a gradual failure of his brakes. Gawaine Baillie battled his Ford Falcon Sprint to third in Class D, while Peter Arundell dragged his Team Lotus car to second in Class, with Tony Dean (using a Race Proved by Willment Lotus Cortina) taking third. It was in the lower capacity classes, however, where a shock emerged. The ever competitve Mini Cooper S, so dominant in previous seasons, was completely outclassed by the Ford Anglias of Superspeed Conversions Ltd. and the Team Broadspeed machine of John Fitzpatrick. Chris Craft, ran with the leading group for most of the race, having qualified amongst them for the race, eventually taking victory in Class B. His team mate, Mike Young, had been with him for most of the race, but retired after a loss of oil from his 1200cc engine, meaning John Rhodes and Tony Lanfranchi got onto the podium with their Minis. In Class A, Fitzpatrick took a clear victory from Paul Webb, while Ray Calcutt, debuting one of two Hillman Imps for the Alan Fraser Racing Team, put himself onto the podium. Second Round: St. Mary's Trophy (Goodwood) The Goodwood circuit played host to race two of the season, with Muir claiming victory in his Galaxie, having barged his way past Salmon on lap six.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1966%20Goodwood.html Brabham then swept his car past the Mustang two laps later to take second, with Salmon third, although Muir was un-stoppable at the front, producing the fastest lap ever seen at Goodwood by a saloon car (1:32.2s). Clark took another class win in his Cortina, almost taking Salmon on the final lap, with Arundell backing his team mate all the way. Dean completed the podium for the second race in succession. Craft claimed another lap record and another victory in Class B, once again untouchable in his Anglia, although his team mate could not compete with him. Rhodes managed to claim his second podium of the year for the Cooper Car Co., while John D. Lewis claimed third in his Mini. Fitzpatrick was gifted a victory after team mate Peter Procter rolled his Anglia and burned, being taken to hospital after hanging on the tail of the Craft's Anglia Super. Calcutt dragged his car onto the podium for the second time in as many races, with team mate Nick Brittan claiming third. Third Round: International Trophy Meeting (Silverstone) Although the BSCC is famed for its close, intense racing, the International Trophy proved to be to the contrary, with John Whitmore taking victory in an Alan Mann prepared Ford Falcon Sprint.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1966%20Silverstone%20Int.html Baillie claimed second after Muir (whose performance was one of the few highlights of the race) retired the gargantuan Galaxie with a blown head gasket. Salmon was third after having to put out a fire in his car, falling eight minutes behind Whitmore. In Class C, Arundell led home another Team Lotus one-two, with rising star Jackie Ickx standing in for Clark (they also set exactly the same time of 1:48.0s, sharing the lap record). Keith Greene, debuting the Alan Foster owned BMW 1000 TI, took third in class, although he was behind the leading trio in Class B. Young was left to his own devices to win in Class B, after team mate Chris Craft, who had been defending from the Coopers of Rhodes and Lanfranchi, retired his Anglia on lap two. Rhodes and Young swapped places numerous times in the 35 lap race, although Young came out on top, with Rhodes second and Lanfranchi limping home in third. Anita Taylor, standing in for the injured Procter, took victory in Class A, despite having been told to slow by her team. Over half a minute behind Taylor came Calcutt, whose Imp was unable to keep pace with the Anglia, while Calcutt's team mate Brittan claimed third. Bill McGovern had led early on, in constant battle with Fitzpatrick, but the pair touched on lap six, sending McGovern out of the race and Fitzpatrick into the pits for a tyre change. Fourth Round: Crystal Palace As tradition (and track limits) dictated, the field was split into two at Crystal Palace, with Classes A and B running separately from Classes C and D.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1966%20Crystal%20Palace.html Despite being the fastest in the Class A and B battle, the Superspeed Conversions cars of Craft and Young were forced to retire from the race, with Craft stuck in first gear and overheating, and Young lost a wheel having held a substantial lead over Rhodes. Rhodes eventually took victory in the race, taking the Mini's first victory that season, with team mate John Handley taking third. Gordon Spice split the two, although he had a fairly lonely race. Fitzpatrick troubled Handley throughout the race, taking Class A, without challenge from behind. Taylor took third, despite having held off McGovern for the majority of the race, before the Imp driver slipped past the Anglia in the closing stages. Some of the promised spectacle in the second race of the day was removed when Muir crashed the Galaxie in practice, preventing him from starting. Roy Pierpoint took victory (his first since he won the title the year before), having had a spirited duel with Arundell for overall victory (who retired after pushing his head gasket too far). Behind Pierpoint came Brabham, who had removed the supercharger from his Mustang to improve reliability, and Class C winner Ickx who battled between themselves throughout the race. Baillie took third ahead of a limping Salmon in Class D, while Paul Hawkins came through in a lonely second in Class C, beating the Triumph 2000 of Bill Bradley. Fifth Round: Peter England Trophy (Brands Hatch) The BSCC gathered at Brands Hatch to support the British Grand Prix of 1966, competing for the Peter England Trophy.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1966%20Brands%20Hatch.html A 32 car grid was led from start to finish by Pierpoint, whose Falcon was finally demonstrating the pace its lightweight design promised. Behind him came Jackie Oliver and Baillie, who had battled amongst themselves for the majority of the race, having dealt with the fast starting Whitmore (who was standing in for Arundell at Team Lotus). Whitmore finished fourth overall (barely a second behind Oliver) and took victory in Class C, with team mate Ickx (again driving for the absent Clark) claiming second, having taken the swinging Galaxie of Muir early on. Tony Dean finished on the podium in Class C once more, although a pit stop to taken on fuel meant he fell behind the majority of the field. Rhodes and Spice in their Minis were unable to defeat Young in his Anglia in the Class B Anglia/Mini battle, after Young inherited the lead when team mate Craft spun off with a locked differential. Their battle was overshadowed, however, by the drama in Class A, with Fitzpatrick (Anglia), Bernard Unett (Imp) and the Class B Mini of John Handley battling in the early stages. Unett managed to get past the Anglia and the Mini at the same time, establishing a small lead over them. However, his Imp decided to empty the tank a lap early, meaning that Unett lost the lead to Fitzpatrick, eventually limping home to take second, ahead of fellow Imp-man Roger Nathan, who held of the challenge of Andrew Mylius in his Fiat Abarth 1000 TC. Sixth Round: The Edward Lewis Trophy (Brands Hatch) The returning Clark demonstrated his skills in the pouring rain at the Edward Lewis Trophy race (a sponsored trophy paid for by former BSCC racer Edward Lewis), taking victory ahead of the sole surviving American cars of Oliver and Muir and team mate Arundell.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1966%20Brands%20Hatch%20Guards.html Clark got ahead at the start, chased by Arundell and the Mustangs, Falcons and Muir's Galaxie, before the muscle cars began to struggle. Baillie ruined his engine, tearing the 4.7 litre V8 to pieces, while debutant Basil van Rooyen ditched his Mustang at Sterling. When Pierpoint dropped out with a lack of oil pressure (attempting to avoid the damage that Baillie did to his car), Clark had a huge lead (slowing in the closing stages to prevent damage to his car), beating Oliver, Arundell and Muir, with Brian Newton completing the Class C podium. With Craft's car still being repaired, Mike Young took his third victory of the year in Class B, in a race which saw little drama for the 1,300cc cars. Rhodes claimed a clear second, while Paddy Hopkirk danced his Mini around the Spice Machine early on to take third. In Class A, Trevor Taylor led early on, before Unett and Nick Brittan reeled him in. Unett took the lead, with Taylor and Brittan running door to door (costing both some glass), before Anita Taylor and Ray Calcutt joined the fray. Trevor dropped away soon after, while Brittan caught a passed a slowing Unett (who developed a puncture) with Anita soon taking second from the limping Imp. Seventh Round: XV Gold Cup (Oulton Park) Supporting the Fifteenth Gold Cup Formula Two meetig at Oulton Park, the BSCC field was once again split into two, with twenty cars running in the Class A and B race, and eighteen in Class C and D.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1966%20Oulton%20Park%20GC.html The first race saw battles throughout the field, with the Anglias of Craft and Young fighting it out against the Minis of Rhodes, Handley and Steve Neal. Young took the lead at the start, before Rhodes took him before the end of lap one. Both were then passed by Craft on lap two, before a mid race duel erupted between them, while Handley and Neal became entwinned in a private duel. Craft took the race, with Rhodes managing to hold off a last minute charge by Young for second, while Fitzpatrick ensured that the Anglia claimed the race in both classes, beating the Alan Fraser Racing Team Hillman Imps of Calcutt and Brittan after Anita Taylor spun on her own oil and retired. Team Lotus had hoped to run a third car at Oulton Park, but Clark blew up his engine in practice, meaning he used the spare car. Even with this set back, Clark was able to take victory, having had a race long battle with Brian Muir's Galaxie and Oliver's Mustang, although he only got passed once the big cars started to suffer from overheating brakes and axel issues. Oliver was the first to go, with an axel stub failed leaving him with three wheels on his wagon, before Muir arrived at Old Hall on the penultimate lap with no brakes, smashing into the barrier and bouncing back onto the track, putting Clark into the lead. Baillie claimed second overall and the honours in Class D, with Richard Bond (using Baillie's old car after he bought a new one) taking third overall (second in class). van Rooyen was classified as finishing and took third in Class D, while Brian Redman put the debuting Alfa Romeo 1600 GTA ahead of Brian Newton for second in Class C. Arundell had been with his team mate at the start, although contact between himself and Ted Savory put his car on its side (he later righted it and continued having lost a lap), and Savory into a heavy smack into the bank at Deep Leap. Eighth Round: BARC International Motor Show (Brands Hatch) Brands Hatch hosted the final meeting of the season, which saw the cars race over two heats and an aggregate result produced.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1966%20Brands%20Hatch%20MS200.html Jackie Oliver claimed victory, having finished first and second in the two heats, with Arundell (third and second) taking Class C in both race and championship. Clark was classified as third in Class C (having won the first race but struggled in heat two), which gave Team Lotus the team championship. Gawaine Baillie claimed the Class D championship with second in Class D on the aggregate score, while Mike Young claimed the seventh victory for the Anglia in Class B. Unfortunately for the Anglia pair, their constant win or retire record meant the John Rhodes (who finished second for the seventh time) took the class title, scoring 50 points. This left him tied with Fitzpatrick in Class A (who took victory in Class A), with Fitzpatrick judged to be the winner by virtue of having won more races (six) than Rhodes (one). Entries The entrants for the 1966 season are shown below: Final Standings 1966 was also the second year in which a team's championship was awarded. The final standings are below: Champions So, the ninth edition of the BSCC saw John Fitzpatrick claim the third championship in a row for a Ford built car, with Anglia finally breaking the strangle hold that the Mini had held on Class A since 1961. John Rhodes finished runner-up having scored the same points as Fitzpatrick and took Class B, while Peter Arundell (who had competed at more races than his esteemed team mate) claimed Class C. Gawaine Baillie took the Class D title, with his fairly standard Ford Falcon Sprint the most reliable car in the class throughout the season, while Team Lotus claimed the Lombank Entrant's Trophy thanks to the combined efforts of Arundell, Jim Clark, Jackie Ickx and John Whitmore. References |} Category:Seasons